Love Story
by quiple
Summary: Based on the song Love Story by Taylor Swift. Claire meets Elle and it's love at first sight. However, something happens and it drives their fathers apart. A story of forbidden love and how they overcome it. My first fanfic so please be nice! EllexClaire
1. Meeting Romeo

**Author's Note: Hi! This is my first ever fanfiction so please be nice and review! Oh, I think my formatting got all funny. Sorry if it's all bunched up or hard to read.**

**Disclaimer; I do not own Claire or Elle or Heroes or anything from the show. It belongs to Tim Kring.**

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**Claire's POV:**

Claire was bored. She was standing on the balcony outside her room, looking down at the people who started coming into her house for her mom's annual summer party. She had always hated it; people that she didn't know and no one close to her age to talk to. She usually spent most her time sulking in her room, at least until her mother came up the stairs and dragged her downstairs into the party. When her mother turned her back on her and went to entertain some guests, she would sprint back up to her room and lock the door. She watched the guests pour in, but recognized only a few people. When she spotted her dad's boss, her mouth fell open. Standing next to him, was a beautiful young woman. She had long, golden locks and she was of medium height. She was wearing a casual suit and matching high heels. Claire could see her sparkling blue eyes from her position. As she watched her, mesmerized, the girl looked up at her. She felt her heart skip a beat as their eyes locked. They remained that way for a few seconds more but then the girl's dad nudged her on her arm and she looked away.

Claire was stunned. She had never felt anything like this before. Adrenaline pumped through her body as she sprinted down the stairs. If she that girl was really her dad's boss' daughter, then her dad would have to say hello to him. If Claire stuck with Noah, she figured that she might meet the girl.  
She spotted her dad in the middle of the crowd and sprinted towards him. When she reached him, she clung to his arm.  
Noah looked down at her and smiled 'So you finally stopped sulking in your room'.

Claire smiled back 'Well, I got bored'.

He gave her a funny look and said 'Right then. Ah, I have to go and say hello to my boss. I just saw him walk in. Do you want to come?'  
She smiled at him again, thinking that her plan might just work.  
They began to look around for the two of them, but they didn't have to look for them for too long since Noah's boss found them first.

'Noah, there you are!' a voice boomed out from the crowd. They both whipped around and Claire gasped.

Her dad's boss walked towards them. Behind him, was the girl that she saw on her balcony. Up close, she looked even more beautiful. Her long, blonde tresses and pale white skin seemed to glow in the late afternoon sunlight. Her piercing blue eyes captivated Claire. But they seemed to hold a strange kind of sadness and loneliness in them. She ran her eyes over her body and suddenly appreciated the way her clothes hugged every curve perfectly.  
Claire was still staring at the girl when Noah and his boss shook hands and Noah said 'Claire, this is my boss, Bob Bishop and his lovely daughter, Elle'.  
She quickly snapped out of her reverie and smiled hastily at Bob. When she smiled at Elle she felt her breath catch in her throat and a slight fluttering in her stomach. Elle was smiling softly to Claire, that breathtakingly beautiful smile made her look ten times prettier than she was already.

'Well Claire, it's nice to finally meet the daughter that Noah talks so much and so highly about'. Bob said as he grasped her hand, shaking it.

'It's nice to meet you too'. Claire responded politely.

'And as your father said before, this is my daughter Elle'. He gestures towards her.

'Hi, nice to meet you' Elle looked at her shyly and stuck out her hand. Her voice reminds Claire of silk; soft and smooth.

'Nice to meet you too' Claire managed to squeak out and shake her hand. Elle's hands were soft.  
Elle smiles at her again awkwardly and looks down suddenly, a blush creeping across her delicate features. Claire notices this and wonders why on earth she is blushing.

'Well it's a good thing that you're here Claire, because Elle would have been terribly lonely tonight. She's not really the one to be really social'. Bob said, looking at Elle.  
'Hey, why don't we grab some snacks to eat and we'll go up to my room and get away from all these people? When it's actually dinner time, we can come down for a bit to grab some more food and head back upstairs' Claire suggested, praying to God that she accepted the offer.

She needn't have worried. About a second after she had finished talking, Elle had hurriedly said 'yes' and looks up.  
'Great. Want to go now?' Claire asked, trying to restrain the euphoria, joy and nervousness that threatened to creep into her voice.

'Sure. Why not?' Elle replied with a smile.

'See you later kiddo' Bob says and both him and Noah smile when Claire grabs Elle's hand and pulls her towards the food table.

They grabbed a plate and loaded it with chips and biscuits and cake and other kinds of junk food and head up to Claire's room.  
'Thanks for saving me', Elle said jokingly, 'I just feel awkward around people and if I look like I'm not being very interested in you, don't take offence please. It's just my sociopathy kicking in and making me feel awkward around new people'.

'It's ok'. Claire replies, smiling.

Elle smiles back and Claire feels that flutter in her stomach again.

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**Footnote: So that's the first chapter of my first fanfic. Hope it didn't disappoint. Please review if you want more! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Meeting Juliet

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys! Oh, and big thanks to OVERKILL-MAX for beta-ing chapter 1 and this one. *cyberug and cookies* Well, here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Claire or Elle or anything in the Heroes universe. Tim Kring owns that. Oh and the song is Taylor Swift's. **

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**Elle's POV:**

Elle's nervous. She's sitting in her dad's car as they drive to his most trusted employee and agent's house for his wife's annual summer party. She hasn't been around too many people for a while, but as soon as she heard that they were going two weeks ago, she hasn't stopped panicking and trying to find a way to wriggle herself out of this tight situation. Unfortunately, nothing she had done would work so now she's sitting in the front seat of her dad's car while nervousness and anxiety twisted in her stomach.  
'Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just relax'. Bob said, sensing Elle's nervousness and fear.  
_Like hell I can _she thought to herself and she grumbled under her breath.

20 minutes later, they parked a street away from the Bennet household. They walked to the house and joined a small crowd of people waiting to go into the house. Elle was already uncomfortable with the amount of people there. There couldn't have been more than 20 people waiting to get in and another 20 in the house but she was already very nervous and uncomfortable. Small sparks started to flicker and discharge from her hand. Bob saw this, so he put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. She took a deep breath to try and calm down and looked up to study the house. It was a fairly big, white house that had several balconies. As she ran her eyes along the balconies, her heart stopped.

On one of the balconies, stood a beautiful girl who could only be Claire, Noah's daughter. She's almost as tall as Elle, maybe just a little shorter and has blonde hair that shimmers in the sunlight. Her sky blue eyes twinkle but on her face is an expression of boredom. Elle watches her sigh then lower her gaze to the throng of people outside the house. Her eyes meet hers and Elle's mouth went very dry and sparks began to flicker in her hands again. She feels powerless to look away from those beautiful blue eyes that lock with hers and the other girl seems to be unable to look away as well. It's only when Bob notices sparks flickering from his daughter's hands and nudges her again that Elle is able to tear her gaze away from the younger blonde's. She internally curses her dad and looks up at him with an annoyed expression. He says nothing and simply says 'Come on, let's go' and they walk into the house.

When they get inside, there are people everywhere. She clutches at her dad's arm as if it is the only thing that's holding her to life and he yelps because she's digging her nails into his biceps.  
'Jeez kiddo, relax. You'll be fine. Just remember how to breathe and you'll be fine.' Bob winces.  
Elle gives him a withering glare and looks at her feet, trying to calm herself. Bob notices this and tries to distract her.  
'Come on, let's go say hi to Noah and Sandra'. Bob said, tugging on his arm which Elle was still attached to.  
They look around for a few moments before Bob spotted them.  
'Oh look, there they are. Except Claire is with Noah. Come on, let's go say hi.'  
Elle grumbled again and grudgingly and finally registered what her father just said.  
'Wait. Claire?' Elle asks.  
'Yeah, Claire. She's Noah's daughter. She's a little younger than you so maybe you can hang out with her.' Bob replies, looking thoughtful.  
Elle said nothing so Bob took this opportunity to drag her to Noah.  
'Noah!' he boomed.  
Noah and Claire whipped around immediately and Elle quickly averted her gaze. Once they got within comfortable speaking range, she couldn't help but stare at Claire. Up close, she looked even more beautiful than she did on the balcony. Soft, blonde hair falling around her shoulders in waves, blue, piercing eyes that sparkled with an emotion she couldn't exactly name and smooth, tanned looking skin that gave off a healthy glow in the late afternoon sunlight. The other girl seemed to be staring at Elle as well.

While her father and Noah shook hands she was vaguely aware of Noah introducing his daughter to them.  
'Claire, this is my boss, Bob Bishop and his lovely daughter, Elle.'  
Claire smiles a breathtakingly beautiful smile at her father and turned to smile at Elle. The older blonde smiled back weakly and she's sure she just heard Claire's breath catch in her throat.  
'Well Claire, it's nice to finally meet the daughter that Noah talks so much and so highly about.' Bob said as he shook Claire's hand.  
Claire responded politely and her father then says 'And as your father said before, this is my daughter Elle.' He gestures towards her.  
Elle manages to find her voice and says shyly, 'Hi, nice to meet you' as she sticks out her hand to shake because daddy says that was polite.  
The younger girl replies 'Nice to meet you too.'  
Elle smiles at her again awkwardly and looks down because she feels a blush creeping across her face.  
She can literally feel Claire's eyes sweeping over her.

Bob must have sensed that Elle was getting really uncomfortable with the amount of people pressing around her so he says 'it's a good thing that you're here Claire, because Elle would have been awfully alone tonight. She's not really the one to be social.'  
Claire speaks up again and says 'Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we grab some snacks to eat and we'll go up to my room and get away from all these people? When dinner is actually served, we can come down get some more food and head back upstairs'  
Elle feels relieved and says 'yes' without thinking. This is odd because she usually would have declined because she is uncomfortable around new people. Bob shoots a quizzical look at her just before Claire says 'Great. Want to go now?'  
Elle tries to hide her nervousness and smiles while saying 'Sure.'

'See you later, kiddo' Bob says, clapping a hand to Elle's shoulder before Claire beckons her to the food table. They grab a few plates and pile them with junk food then head up the stairs into Claire's room.  
Claire's room is quite big. There were a lot of trophies that looked like they were for cheerleading, strategically placed teddy bears and lots of pink.  
Elle realizes that Claire subtlety staring at her and strangely, she doesn't feel uncomfortable about that.  
'Thanks for saving me', Elle says jokingly, 'I just feel awkward around people and if I look like I'm not being very interested in you, don't take offence please. It's just my sociopathy kicking in and it makes me feel awkward around new people' she explained.  
'It's ok'. Claire replies, beautiful smile again.  
Elle smiles back and her heart starts to beat faster.

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**Footnote: Well, that was chapter 2 everyone. Please review if you want more! Thanks for reading! **


	3. Connecting

**Author's note: Hey guys! Sorry for the slight delay in updating. I was kinda stuck (again) for a while. But thanks to overkill-Max for unsticking me (again) and beta reading it. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Claire or Elle or Heroes. Tim Kring does. I also don't own the song Love Story or Lady GaGa's album, The Fame (fantastic album, go listen to it!).

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**Elle's POV:**

Elle's never felt so connected to someone in her entire life. She and Claire were currently collapsed on her bed and giggling madly after having a wild dance party on top of the bed and singing on the top of their lungs to Lady GaGa's album, The Fame. They had spent the last 4 hours laughing, comparing music tastes, eating, dancing, singing badly and talking about basically everything under the sun. Elle felt like she had known Claire all her life, not just for four hours. They had a lot of things in common, which was different, because Elle had never really had a proper friend in her life. There were just agents she had to work with when she went out on mission and her daddy. Sure, she had talked to some of the prisoners when she was bored but she never really connected with them. Besides, they would always end up perving on her so she left too quickly to form a connection with them.

Turns out, Claire had ability like she did. She could heal really, really fast. Elle had gotten too excited and accidently shocked her, leaving a burn. Elle apologized profusely but Claire just smiled and told her to watch the burn. To Elle's amazement, it proceeded to her in under 15 seconds so she showed Claire her ability. The younger girl was amazed at her electricity and they spent at least half an hour asking each other about the limits of their abilities. Claire told her that she used to jump off a gravel tower to see if she could heal from those injuries. Elle then proceeded to tell her that she couldn't go swimming because if her ability went crazy in the water, she would electrocute herself and everything that had contact with the water. Claire looked shocked that she had never been swimming and promised Elle to take her swimming and make sure that she didn't freak out so she couldn't electrocute herself.

Being around Claire was easy for Elle. She never really connected with anyone, because not many people understood her. But Claire listened intently to Elle when she explained her 'problem', and she didn't shun her after she had finished talking. Being around Claire made Elle feel comfortable, which was weird since Elle had to really trust someone before she would even allow them to get close to her like Claire did in about 15 minutes.

Then there was also this…feeling. Elle didn't know what it was, since she had never felt anything like it before. It was like a weird fluttering feeling in her stomach whenever Claire smiled at her and her skin burned wherever she touched her. Elle didn't know what this meant, so she pushed it aside and focused on bonding with Claire.

A knock on the door made them both sit up straight and attempt to stop laughing. Noah opened the door and said 'dinner's ready girls. And do you know how loud you two are? We can hear you all the way to the backyard and I think I can recite all the lyrics to Boys Boys Boys and Summerboy by now.'

'Sorry dad. We'll come down in a few minutes' Claire said, still chortling.

'Ok then, but you might want to hurry up because the food's going to disappear pretty fast' Noah said before closing the door again and walking down the stairs.

'Come on, it's better to go downstairs quickly and grab some food because the food _does_ disappear' Claire said and she took Elle hand and tugged on it slightly. They both got off the bed and ran down the stairs and into the backyard where Noah and Bob were barbequing a whole bunch of meat.  
'Hey girls!' Bob yelled over the music and waved with a spatula in his hand.

Claire and Elle moved over to their dads and didn't notice that they were still holding hands.  
'Having fun you two? It certainly sounded like it **(that came out wrong. Damn karinaitis.)** when we heard a particular album being played at full blast' Bob asked, flipping over some beef. 'Yeah, we're having a great time!' exclaimed his daughter and she squeezed Claire's hand gently.

Bob eyed Claire quizzically and said 'you must really be something, Claire. Normally Elle wouldn't really let you in so quickly like she apparently has now' he said, indicating at their entwined hands.

They both looked down at their hands and hastily let go of each other, a blush creeping over both their faces. Elle smiled to herself and thought _what is she doing to me?_  
'Well girls, you might want to grab some food before it all runs out and you have to wait until the next round' indication at the food table which was slowly being emptied of food.

'You're right. See you daddy!' Elle exclaimed and she grabbed Claire's hand again and pulled her towards the table.

After they had filled their plates with food, Claire asked if she was comfortable with staying down here or if she wanted to go back up to her room and eat there. Elle said she was comfortable with being downstairs. She felt as long as Claire was around, she would be fine. They ate, talked and laughed all through dinner and when dinner was over, a bunch of people cleared a large space of the backyard and Noah put on some soft, slow dancing music. Soon, couples and random people began moving to the cleared space and began to dance. Seeing this, Claire prodded Elle's shoulder and said 'come on, let's dance!'

Elle looked over to the people dancing slowly and nodded. 'Okay. Let's go.'

Claire squealed in delight and they both jogged over to the dancing couples. The older girl wrapped one arm around the other girl's waist and took Claire's other hand in her own. Claire smiled softly up at Elle and she smiled back, feeling that familiar fluttering feeling in her stomach intensify. Claire took this opportunity to lay her head down on Elle's shoulder and close her eyes, sighing softly in what seemed to be contentment. At this point, Elle found it quite difficult to breathe.

They danced all through the next 5 songs and when they broke apart, it was getting late and people were starting to leave. Not too long afterwards, Bob tapped on Elle's shoulder and told them they were leaving. Claire walked Elle to the front gate and said 'I had a really great time tonight'.

The older girl smiled and said shyly 'I had a great time too. Do you think I could….get your number so we can…you know…hang out sometime again?'

'Yeah sure!' Claire replied, looking a little flustered.

They exchanged phone numbers and when they said their goodbyes, Claire kissed Elle softly on the cheek and wished her goodnight. Elle walked away with a burning sensation on her cheek and she reached up and touched it, smiling.

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**Footnote: Well, that was the third chapter. Not particularily proud of it but oh well. Hope you enjoyed it and please review! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Realizing

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay again. I was stuck. Again. Well anyways, thanks again to OVERKILL-MAX for beta-ing this chapter and unsticking me. Again.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Claire or Elle or Heroes. Tim Kring does. I also do not own Taylor Swift's song Love Story of Lady GaGa's album, The Fame (great album. listen to it!)**

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**Claire's POV:**

Claire was surprised. She didn't think for one second since Elle had told her about her 'problem' that they would be in the position they were currently in. They were lying on their backs on her bed and giggling like crazy. They had just finished madly dancing on top of the bed to Lady GaGa's album called The Fame. The last 4 hours had flown by as they laughed, ate, danced, sang badly and talked about everything they could think of. Claire felt like she had known Elle all her life, not just for 4 hours. They had heaps in common, and Claire knew that Elle had never had much of a chance to have a person who she could really connect with because of what the older girl had told her.

She also found out that Elle had an ability. Elle's ability allowed her to create electricity and use it in various ways. The older blonde accidently burnt Claire's skin and Elle apologized profusely but Claire wasn't worried at all. She just told Elle that it was ok and to watch the burn. Wonder and awe rippled across her face when she saw the burn heal and the skin knit together by itself. Claire couldn't help but feel proud and grateful for her ability at this very moment. Elle then showed her her own ability by opening her hand and creating a perfectly round, blue sphere of electricity that levitated in her palm. This amazed Claire and they spent a good half an hour asking each other about their abilities. Claire told the other girl about the times when she would experiment with her ability by jumping off the gravel tower. Elle then surprised Claire when she told her she had never been swimming ever since she found out that is she tried to use her ability while she was wet, she would shock herself. The younger girl told her how much she was missing out on and promised to take her swimming without freaking out so her power wouldn't get out of control and shock herself.

Being around Elle was easy. She didn't need to be all closed up and introvert like she was when she was making new friends. There was something about Elle that captivated her. She had really listened to Elle when she was explaining about her sociopathy, and she didn't judge her for it afterwards. Sure, she might have slight social problems, but it was no reason to avoid her or shun her just because she was slightly different. Claire was also surprised that Elle had let her see her for who she was in such a short time. It was like Elle already had total faith and trust in her, and it was nice.

And then there was this…voice. A small, nagging voice at the corner of her mind that whispered things that Claire wasn't used to hearing. Things about Elle. This disturbed her on a number of levels and she did the best she could to push these unusual thoughts to the back of her min d and focused on Elle. The way her skin burned and tingled every time the older girl touched her and the way her stomach flipped and fluttered when she laughed or looked at her did not help one bit to quash those thoughts.

A knock on the door startled Claire, and she jumped. This made Elle laugh even harder and her stomach started to tango. The door opened and Noah poked his head into the room.  
'Dinner's ready girls. And do you know how noisy you two are? We can hear you all the way to the backyard and I think I can recite all the lyrics to Boys Boys Boys by now. Now Poker Face is playing on repeat in my head. And the lyrics to LoveGame are…..interesting. Explain to me later.'

'Mr. Bennet, I think you'd be happier not knowing what that song means' Elle replied, still laughing.

Noah seemed to change his mind and said 'Ok then, maybe I won't ask what it means. You might want to hurry up and come downstairs, the food's disappearing already.'

'Ok dad, be right down' Claire said, smiling.

Noah closed the door and the younger girl bounded off the bed and extended her hand out to Elle, who was still lying on the bed.  
'He's right; we better get downstairs if we want to actually get some food.'

Elle accepted the hand that was offered to her and Claire couldn't help but marvel at how saintly smooth and warm Elle's skin was against her's.

Elle impatiently tugged on Claire's hands and they both ran down the stairs, not noticing that they were still holding hands. They entered the backyard and the smell of cooked and cooking food wafted over them.  
'Hey girls!' Bob yelled over the music and waved with a spatula in his hand.

Claire and Elle moved over to their dads over at the barbeque.  
'Having fun you two? It certainly sounded like it when we heard a particular album being played at full blast' Bob asked, plating some sausages.

'Yeah, we're having a great time!' shouted his daughter and she squeezed Claire's hand gently unconsciously.

Bob looked at Claire quizzically and said 'you must really be something, Claire. Normally Elle wouldn't really let you in so quickly like she apparently has now' he said, indicating at their entwined hands.

They both realized that they were still holding hands and they released them at exactly the same moment, blushing furiously. Both Bob and Noah chuckled and Noah said, 'Ah, girls? You might want to grab some food before you have to wait for the next round, which might be a while.'

Claire looked over at the table and saw people milling around it, grabbing at whatever food they could reach.

'Yeah, you're right. See you guys later!' the older blonde said and she took Claire's hand again, pulling her to the food table.

They managed to collect the food that they wanted and Claire went to get some drinks. As she was waiting for the coke, she looked over at Elle who was hugging her knees and looking up at the sky, looking like a vision (at least to her). Claire looked in wonder at how her skin and light blonde locks seemed to glow in the sunset noticed the sad, isolated look in her eyes had been replaced with something like happiness and contentment. Claire smiled at herself and poured two cups of coke and went back to the patch of grass that Elle had occupied and saved for her.

All through the meal, they laughed, talked and ate. It was a miracle that neither of them choked. When they finished eating and were lying on their backs, looking up at the sky and stars, the younger blonde noticed that her father had put on some slow dancing music and there were people waltzing to the music. She poked Elle's shoulder and the older girl looked at her with a questioning look.

'Come on, let's dance' Claire whispered, sitting up.

Elle looked over at the people dancing and Claire saw a momentary flash of fear cross her face and she was just about to say that they didn't have to if Elle was uncomfortable but the electrokinetic beat her to it and said 'Ok.'

They both stood and walked over to the place where the people were dancing.  
Elle wrapped one arm around her waist and gently took her other hand. Claire smiled softly up at Elle and her heart fluttered and her breath caught in her throat when she smiled back. Soon the song Flightless Bird, American Mouth came on and Claire sighed, resting her head on Elle's shoulder and tightened her grip on the other girl's hands, causing the Elle's heartbeat to speed up.

'I love this song. Even though the lyrics don't make any sense at all' Claire murmured.

'Me too. I've probably listened to this song a million times already' Elle replied.

Claire shifted her head's position on her shoulder and Elle gently hummed the tune in her ear. Claire had never felt so happy, or content, or at peace. I had only been about five and a half hours that she had first met Elle, but she had already managed to make her fell like this.

They danced through another five songs and by the time they broke apart, people were starting to leave because it was getting late. Soon, Bob tapped Elle's shoulder and told her that they were leaving. She walked Elle to the front gate and Elle nervously asked her for her phone number. Claire blushed furiously but they exchanged numbers and Elle promised that she would call and they would hang out again sometime. When she and her father turned around the corner, she headed back up to her room and collapsed on the bed, smiling as she realized that Elle's wonderful scent still clung to the pillow.

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**Footnote: Well, that was chapter 4 everyone. Not particularily proud of this one either but oh well. Hope you liked it and please review! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Fulfilment

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! This was an easy chapter to write but usually when I think something is easy it usually turns out crap so I hope I don't dissapoint! Thanks to OVERKILL-MAX for beta-ing once again. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Claire or Elle or anything from the Heroes universe. Tim Kring does (lucky guy). Oh, I also do not own Taylor Swift or the song Love Story.**

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**Claire's POV:  
**_**4 months later…..**_

Claire was waiting for Elle to come over to her house to save her from dying of boredom. Her parents and Lyle had gone out to her dad's employee's wedding or something and Claire didn't want to go, so she faked having lots of homework so she wouldn't have to go. Sure, she did have some homework to finish, but she finished it in a flash. Now she was dead bored, since there was nothing on TV that was worthy to watch, nothing to do on the computer and she had absolutely nothing to do. She sat in her room for about twenty minutes, trying to think of something to do when the phone rang. It was Elle with her daily call to see how she was because she was also bored most of the time. Claire asked if Elle could come over to keep her company for a little while. Elle had agreed and promised to be there in around fifteen minutes.

Claire was absolutely sure that she loved Elle. She had known it not long after they had first met. But she didn't know if Elle felt the same way about her. Even if she did, she doubted that Elle would know what the feelings meant and she probably wouldn't act on them. She didn't want to ruin their friendship and she knew it wasn't wise to push Elle since the older girl wouldn't react too well to that. It was nice to be best friends with someone you so desperately want. It was better than having that person avoid you because you scared them away.

The sound of the doorbell ringing snapped Claire out of her reverie. She quickly jumped off her bed and sprinted down the stairs, almost tripping on the way. She bolted to the door and opened it. It was Elle, and she was wearing the smile that Claire loved to see.  
'Your savior from boredom has arrived' Elle quipped and the younger girl smiled.

'Thank god for that.' She said as she moved to the side so that Elle could step into the house.

'Where is everyone?' the older blonde asked, looking around.

'They're at someone's wedding. I didn't want to go so I stayed here' Claire said.

'Well that explains it. Come on; let's go to your room.'

They walked up to Claire's room and she shut the door, even though they were the only ones in the house.  
'So, what was my savior from boredom doing before she heard my cry for help and came to valiantly rescue me?' Claire asked with a smile on her face.

'Oh, not much, just listening to some Chet Baker and reading Romeo and Juliet.' Elle says, smiling back.

'Well, that sounds fun. Why don't you put on some Chet Baker now?' Claire suggested.

'Sure!' the older girl exclaimed and she bounded off the bed, pulled out her iPod and plugged it into docking station on Claire's bedside table. The sound of his song 'Let's get lost' issued softly from the speakers and Elle held out her hand said 'come on. Let's dance, I'll lead.'

Claire accepted the hand that was held out to her and Elle pulled her into a tight embrace. Already, Claire's body burned from their proximity. She closed her eyes and sighed. Elle swayed them gently to and fro and hummed softly in Clare's ear. The younger blonde soon realized after a few minutes that they had never been so close to each other before. All the pent up desire for Elle suddenly rushed up to the surface and she fought hard not to turn in Elle's arm and kiss her.

Elle must've felt Claire stiffen while she internally battled her feelings because she asked 'what's wrong?'

Claire's resolve wavered and she decided that if she didn't tell Elle how she felt about her, she was going to do something stupid and it would definitely ruin their friendship, which was something she couldn't bear to happen. So she turned in her arms and played with Elle's collar before saying ''well, there's this….person I like, but I don't know if they feel the same about me. I don't know what to do.'

Elle looked confused and for some reason, scared, for a second before she replied 'who wouldn't like you? I mean you're funny, kind, nice, cute, loving, caring and beautiful. If the person you like doesn't like you back they must be crazy.'

Claire raised her eyebrows and asked 'did you just call me cute?'

Elle blushed and hurriedly replied 'it kinda just…slipped out. Hey, do I know this person?'

'Yes, you know this person Elle. Very well in fact' the younger blonde informed her.

'Oh,' Elle looked down for a moment,' mind telling me….who he is?'

'They…they're not a he, that person is a she' said Claire, looking down.

'Oh, ok then. Well then mind telling me who _she _is?' Elle asked, emphasizing the 'she' part.

Claire knew this was it. Rising quickly on her tiptoes and getting so close to Elle that their noses were brushing, she said 'well I hope what I'm going to do answers your question' and then she kissed her.

So soft.  
Elle's lips were everything that she had imagined. Claire felt arms wrap around her lower back and she reached up to snake her arms around the older girl's neck. Elle was kissing her back so softly and gently, Claire was afraid that she was imagining this. It was so delicate, simple, and so very perfect. Soon, the kiss turned open-mouthed and hungry and when the lack of oxygen became a problem, Claire reluctantly broke the kiss and looked up into Elle's eyes.  
'Well, does that answer your question?' Claire whispered.

Elle smiled softly at her and gently caressed Claire's cheek. 'Yeah, it does. I've wanted to do that since….well since we first met. I didn't because I didn't know what I was feeling and if it was allowed or if you liked me back.'

'Me too. I didn't know if you liked me back either and I was afraid of ruining our friendship if you didn't' Claire confessed, running her fingers over Elle's lips.

The older girl bent down to Claire's level and pressed her lips to the younger blonde's again. They broke away after a few minutes and Elle smiled and said 'would you like me to stop?'

Claire chuckled and replied 'do you like watching me cry? Because I will if you stop.'

Elle laughed and kissed her again and Claire smiled against Elle's lips.

God, she loves this girl.

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**Footnote: Well peoples, that was the 5th chapter. Hopw you liked it and please review! Thanks for reading!**


	6. Listening

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in updating but I wrote about 8 pages for this chapter and I needed to trim it down a lot. I have to warn you though, I edited this myself and I may have missed a few things and I'm sorry if I did. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Claire or Elle or anything from the Heroes universe. Tim Kring does. The song Love Story belongs to Taylor Swift. **

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**Elle's POV:**

Elle turned a page of one of her favorite classics, Romeo and Juliet. She had just started reading it for the millionth and she could probably recite most of the quotes by now. She was up to Act 1, scene 5 and a particular quote jumped out at her. It was this quote:

_Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night._

She smiled and realized that this was what she felt the moment she first laid eyes on Claire. She leaned back into the chair more and closed her eyes, letting the music she had put on wash over her.

Elle was sure that she was in love. It took her a while to figure out, and she had help from someone else. A few weeks ago, the Company had hired a councilor who had an ability. He passed her in the corridor and he immediately picked up on her confusion about her feelings for Claire. She wasn't sure what they meant and if someone was meant to feel the way she did about a friend. So he tapped her shoulder and said that she could drop by his office if she wanted to talk about how she was feeling. Usually, she would have declined immediately, but this time, she felt that she couldn't figure this one out on her own and she needed help in finding out what she felt towards Claire.

Later that day, she went to his office and asked if he had time to talk and he said yes. The counselor's name was James Williams. He knew exactly how you felt and he didn't judge you. That was his ability. So she explained how she and Claire had first met and what they've done since then and then she told him about her feelings for Claire and asked him what they meant. Only then did he ask her if he could focus his ability on her so he could understand further and she said yes. It only took him a few seconds to figure out that she was in love with Claire. Elle was confused at first, but then he explained to her what she was feeling. Now understanding, she asked him what she should do now. James just said 'follow your heart'.

The sound of her phone ringing snapped Elle out of her thoughts. She hastily picked it up and saw that Claire was calling her. She picked up and said 'hey.'

'Hey Elle.' Claire replied. Elle's heart started to pound and she thought that the cheerleader sounded really bored.

'What's up?'

'Nothing much. I'm really, really bored. If you don't mind, do you think you could come over and keep me company for a while?' she asked hopefully.

'Sure. Be right over in about 15 minutes' Elle replied without thinking.

'Thanks Elle! See you soon!' the other girl exclaimed. Elle could hear the smile in her voice.

'Ok then. Bye' and she hung up.

She got up off the chair, carefully marked her page of the book, unplugged her iPod and put it into her pocket, grabbed her car keys and took off out the door to her car. Within 20 minutes, she was pulling up in front of Claire's house and she got out, locked her car and walked to the front door. She rang the doorbell and smoothed down her clothes. The door opened and she felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw Claire standing there, looking absolutely beautiful. She wondered vaguely how this girl had so easily managed to penetrate through all the defenses she had learnt to build up around her heart.

'Your savior from boredom has arrived' she said mischievously and the younger girl smiled the smile that Elle always loved to see her wear.

'Thank god for that.' The younger girl replied and she stepped aside and beckoned Elle to come into the house. She did just that and looked around. There was no-one in sight.

'Where is everyone?' the older blonde asked.

'They're at someone's wedding. I didn't want to go so I stayed here' Claire said.

'Well that explains. Come on; let's go to your room'.

She followed Claire up to her room and tried to calm her thumping heart. They were alone, truly alone for the first time since James had told her that she loved Claire. Right now, she was afraid that she might do something stupid and jeopardize their friendship because she wasn't really that good at controlling her emotions. Claire shut the door behind them when they entered her room and Elle took a seat on the other girl's bed.  
'So, what was my savior from boredom doing before she heard my plea for assistance and came to bravely rescue me?' Claire asked with a playful grin.

'Oh, not much, just listening to some Chet Baker and reading Romeo and Juliet for the millionth time'. Elle replied, smiling back.

'Well, that sounds fun. Hey, why don't you put on some Chet Baker now?' Claire suggested.

'Sure!' the older girl exclaimed and she bounced off the bed, pulled out her iPod and plugged it into docking station on Claire's bedside table. The sound of his song 'Let's get lost' issued softly from the speakers and Elle remembered what James had told her to do, so she said 'dance with me.'

Claire looked at her outstretched hand and Elle was about to say that she didn't have to but the younger girl took her hand. Elle smiled, relieved, and pulled Claire from the bed. She immediately wrapped her arms around her and she felt Claire press herself eagerly into her. Elle's heart thumped unevenly and her skin burned where they touched. She began moving gently to the music and she felt Claire follow her lead. However, she felt Claire stiffen at something and she pulled back slightly and asked 'what's wrong?'

Claire hesitated for a moment before saying 'well, there's this….person I like, but I don't know if they feel the same about me. I don't know what to do'.

Elle felt her heart drop to somewhere around her knees. She struggled to look confused and tried to keep her voice steady. 'Who wouldn't like you? I mean you're funny, kind, nice, cute, loving, caring and beautiful. If the person you like doesn't like you back they must be crazy'.

Oh shit. She had called Claire cute. As she was internally berating herself, Claire looked at her incredulously and said 'did you just call me cute?'

The older girl blushed and stuttered 'it kinda just…slipped out. Hey, do I know this person?'

'Yes, you know this person Elle. Very well in fact' the younger blonde informed her.

Elle looked away so Claire didn't see how crushed she felt. Now she knew that Claire didn't return her feelings, and she didn't know what to do. Three unknown emotions bubbled up inside her and she recognized one as jealously. Trying to control her emotions and her voice steady, she asked,' mind telling me….who he is?' It came out a little forced and a sliver of jealousy managed to creep into her voice.

Claire looked down and hesitated before answering 'It's…it's not a he, it's a she.'

'Oh, ok then. Well then mind telling me who _she _is?' Elle asked, not really wanting to know who this girl was.

Claire was silent for long enough that she was about to open her mouth and tell her that she didn't have to say who it was when she felt the younger girl rise onto her toes and get so close to her that their noses were brushing together and she immediately seemed to lose her train of thought. She just concentrated on remembering to breathe.  
'Well, I hope this answers your question' the younger blonde breathed before she gently pressed her lips to Elle's.

Perfect.  
There was only one way to describe the kiss. Perfect. Claire's lips were so soft and warm; Elle couldn't help but kiss back tenderly. She wrapped her arms around the younger girl's waist in an attempt to bring her closer and she felt the other girl snake her arms around her neck, pulling her down and closer. Elle had never felt anything like this before. It was so gentle, so intimate and so very, very perfect. Soon, the kiss turned hungry and open-mouthed and Claire pulled away after a few more minutes.

'Well, does that answer your question?' Claire whispered. Elle could feel supple lips brushing against her's with every word.

The older girl smiled softly at her and gently stroked Claire's cheek. 'Yeah, it does. I've wanted to do that for so long now. I didn't because I didn't know what I was feeling and if it was allowed or if you liked me back'.

'Same here. I didn't know if you liked me back either and I was afraid of tarnishing our friendship if you didn't' Claire confessed, running her fingers over Elle's lips.

The older girl leaned down to Claire's level and pressed her lips to the younger blonde's again. Elle broke away after a few minutes and she smiled and said 'do you want me to stop?'

Claire chuckled and replied 'do you want to see me cry?'

Elle laughed and kissed her again and she felt the other girl smile against her lips.

Thank God she listened to James.

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**Footnote: So that was the sixth chapter. Hope you liked it and sorry again if I missed any mistakes. Good luck OVERKILL-MAX with your homework! Please review and thanks for reading! **


	7. Confession

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates but I had this ridiculously hard religion test that I studied for but still think I failed and I was kinda distracted while I was writing this. Oh well. As usual, thanks to OVERKILL-MAX for beta-reading this chapter and hope you like it!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Claire or Elle or anything from Heroes. Tim Kring does. I also do not own the song Love Story. Taylor Swift does.

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**Claire's POV:**

'My mom's been acting weird when we've been together for the past week' declared Claire.

Elle looked up with a quizzical look and asked 'why?'

Claire looked down at the bed they were sitting on and thought about her answer. It had been two weeks ever since she and Elle had first kissed. Since then, the older girl had come over to her house every second day to see her. No one complained though, everyone was happy to see Elle. However, in the past week, Sandra had been staring and spying on the two of them when they were downstairs and making unnecessary trips up to Claire's room when they were in there.

'Well, I think she suspects something's going on between us' Claire replied, playing with a loose thread on her blanket.

'Ah, when you think about it, we haven't exactly been subtle' Elle pointed out, throwing another piece of chocolate into her mouth.

_Well, _Claire thought, _she does kind of have a point there. _Claire supposed they had been unconsciously doing what other people would consider couple-y things like holding hands at every available moment, excessive touching, excessive hugging, looking at each other with lovey-dovey puppy dog eyes, face cradling and a whole lot of other things. Her mother was very observant at times and Claire was actually honestly surprised she had taken so long to notice anything.

Elle's phone suddenly rang and she took it out of her pocket, looked at the caller ID and mouthed 'sorry!' to Claire, stood up from the bed and picked up.  
'Hello?' Elle said.

She paused before saying 'Ok daddy. I'll be right over.'

She snapped the phone shut, looked at Claire and said 'something's happened on Level Five. I have to go back to the Company and help clean up the mess.'

'Wait, wait, wait. Level Five? What's that?' Claire asked confusedly.

Elle paused with her hand on the doorknob and said 'Level Five is a containment unit where all the criminals with the most powerful abilities are kept. Some of the prisoners have escaped and Primatech is in lockdown. The prisoners are hiding and we have to find them before they start to kill people to get out and they will cause massive destruction if they escape.'

With that, Elle flung herself out of the door, closely followed by Claire. They ran into Noah on the way down the stairs, who was buckling a gun holster to his waist.

'Elle, did your dad call you about what happened at Level Five?' he panted, struggling to buckle the holster onto his hip until Sandra gave him a hand.

'Yeah I did. Do you know which ones broke out?' the blonde asked.

'Not yet, but we will once we get there. Do you have a gun Elle?' he asked, jamming his gun into the holster.

'No, I didn't bring one with me.'

'Well, you're going to need one so I have spare holster and gun you can borrow.'

'Thanks Noah. Wait for me and we'll go to Primatech together.' Elle said.

'Well I have to show you where they are right?' he said, leading her into his study. He opened a drawer and threw Elle a holster and a gun. Claire watched worriedly as she watched Elle strap on the holster and twirl the gun around. It was bad enough having to worry about her dad, but combined with worrying about Elle, she didn't know if she would be able to sit still or do anything until she knew that they were safe.

Once Elle was done, Noah pulled both Sandra and Claire into a hasty hug and released them quickly. Sandra then hugged Elle briefly then saying 'good luck' before giving Claire a look and exiting the room, shutting the door behind her. The younger girl crossed the room quickly before wrapping her arms around Elle's waist and burying her face into her neck. The other girl held her tightly, knowing that Claire would worry about her so she said 'hey, hey, hey, listen to me. Nothing is going to happen to me or your dad. We're just going to go to the Company and round up the prisoners and we're going to come back. Nothing is going to go wrong and we'll both be fine.'

Claire wished she could believe Elle's words, but Elle and her father were going to round up a bunch of prisoners who had done things bad enough to land themselves in Level Five. So she nodded into the older girl's neck and clung to her harder for a few seconds before pulling the other girl down to her level and pressing her lips to her's. Elle kissed back softly and pulled away after hearing Noah telling her to hurry up. Only then did Claire realize that she had tears in her eyes, so Elle brushed them away quickly and gently away with her knuckles, smiled at her one last time and walking out of the door. Claire wiped the remaining tears away and followed her out of the study room door. She got to the front door just in time to see Elle and her father walking out. Elle looked back over her shoulder and gave her a small smile and a reassuring wink before she closed the front door, leaving Claire and her mother alone in the house.

The two of them were silent for a moment, and then Sandra, looking flustered and worried, said 'do you want any tea Claire?'

Claire absent mindedly nodded her head and followed her mother to the kitchen sitting down on a bar stool. Already her stomach was coiling in fear and anxiety, and Elle hadn't even been gone for five minutes. She was dimly aware of Sandra pushing a cup of tea in front of her and she absent mindedly stirred it. A thousand horrible scenarios of what could possibly go wrong were running through her mind and she suddenly felt sick.

A tap on her shoulder snapped Claire out of her thoughts. It was Sandra.  
'Hey Claire, can I ask you a question?' her mother asked.

'Yeah sure mom. What's up?' Claire said, glad that she had a distraction from her imagination.

Sandra took a deep breath and said hesitantly, 'Claire, before I say this, I need you to understand that what I'm about to ask you is based completely on my observations. Ok?'

'Yes' Claire replied slowly, not understanding where her mother was getting at.

'Is there…anything….going on between you and Elle?' Sandra asked hesitantly.

'Oh' was all Claire could say.

Sandra looked at her expectantly and patiently waited for an answer. Claire didn't know how to tell her mother that she was in love with Elle.

'Well…' was all she could get out.

Sandra looked at her shrewdly and said softly 'you love her, don't you?'

Claire looked up in surprise and found her mother's blue eyes staring intently into her's. She nodded slowly and said 'yeah. I love her. Completely, hopelessly and utterly head over heels in love with her'

Sandra smiled and walked around the bench to hug Claire. 'Oh honey, that's great!'

Claire leaned into her mother's hug and asked 'you're ok with that?'

Sandra pulled away and said 'I've seen how she treats you, Claire. She treats you like a princess and it's like you are the most important person in the world to her. Your father has told me the things Elle has done and what she is capable of and I must admit, when I heard what she could do, I was a little scared at first for your safety. But then I watched you two closely for a couple of days and it was clear that she would never hurt you. Are you happy with Elle?'

Claire nodded and said 'Yeah. I've never been happier with anyone in my life.'

'Well, if my little girl is happy, then I am too.'

Claire threw her arms around her mother again and laughed, relieved that she had finally told someone that she could trust. Claire pulled away from her mother's embrace and Sandra said 'now, tell me how you two got together.'

Claire nodded and for the next couple of minutes she was telling her mom about the first time she and Elle kissed. She couldn't help telling her mom about how she felt and how Elle was reacting but her mother didn't seem to mind, she was just looking at Claire and listening to her patiently with a small smile on her face. After Claire had retold her story, Sandra went on to tell Claire about how her and Noah had first got together.

'Mom, can I ask you something?' the younger blonde asked, taking a sip of tea from her cup.

'Ask me anything' her mother replied.

Claire looked down into her cup before raising her eyes to her mom's face and asked, 'how did you guess that Elle and I were together?'

Sandra laughed and replied 'oh honey, it wasn't that hard. If you weren't all of a sudden feeding each other, you were fondling each other's clothing or hair, looking at each other with love sick puppy dog eyes, holding hands excessively and it's like you two have absolutely no idea what personal space. It was so blatantly obvious, it's a wonder even your father or your brother didn't notice it, even though those two take the word 'blind' to a whole new level.'

Claire laughed, realizing her mother was right and she said 'well looks like we just have to tone it down a bit then.'

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**Footnote: Well, that was chapter 7. Hope you liked it and please review! Thanks for reading!**


	8. The First Date Part One

**Author's Nothe: Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone who PM'ed me to say how much they like this fic. Also, thanks to OVERKILL-MAX for beta-ing and SAKURAANGEL-A LOVEABLE PSYCHO for unsticking me yet again. Here is the next chpter. Enjoy!**

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**Claire's POV:  
**_**3 weeks later……**_

Claire was nervous. She was waiting for Elle to pick her up from her house for their first official date. The older girl had asked her 3 days ago when they had gone to the beach if she would go on a date with her to which Claire happily agreed. They had settled on the details and now Claire was sitting on the living room couch, anxiously waiting for the doorbell to ring. Her phone suddenly beeped; a sign of an incoming text message. It was from her mother. It read 'good luck with Elle today! Love you, mom.'  
Claire smiled and texted her mom back, thanking her. Her mother, father and brother had left five days ago to go to their lakeside cabin for a week. Claire had stayed behind, saying that she had tests, assignments and homework to do. Her father didn't want to ruin her 'A' average, but her mother had given her a knowing look and later, she asked Claire if it was truly the reason she wanted to stay behind. Claire said she didn't want to stay away from Elle for so long and her mother smiled and hugged her before saying 'you and Elle are good for each other. She treats you so well and I can tell she really loves you. Don't mess this up'.

Claire smiled at the memory and the doorbell rang. She jumped but hurried to the door. Elle stood there, dressed casually and looking absolutely beautiful.

'Good evening, m'lady. How art thou on this fine day?' Elle grinned, bowing slightly and gently grasping Claire's hand and brushing her lips over it, perfectly mirroring those old classics that Claire knew Elle loved to read.

'Hey Elle. I'm great, thanks.' Claire chortled.

Elle then presented the younger girl with a single, long stemmed red rose.  
Claire accepted the flower and smelled it. 'It's beautiful, thank you.'

She leaned up to gently pressed her lips to Elle's once more and pulled away after a few seconds.  
'Ready to go?' the older girl asked.

'Yeah, I'm good' the younger girl said breathlessly, turning around and putting the rose carefully down on the table next to the door and grabbing her keys. She put on her shoes, locked the door and followed Elle to her car. Elle held the door open for her and Claire climbed in. Elle walked over to the driver's side and climbed in, starting the car.

'Ok, Elle. Please tell me where we are going?'

'I'm taking you to a really nice restaurant I know. Daddy and I always go there when we have important meetings. Well, when he has important meetings. I'm just there to make sure everything goes smoothly and help if they need a little extra….persuasion' Elle said hesitantly, like she had said too much.

Claire shivered and tried to not imagine Elle fighting with her ability.  
Elle took one hand off the steering wheel and took one of Claire's hands. She looked over and smiled at her briefly before turning her attention back onto the road. They said nothing on the way to the restaurant. They didn't need to. This was one of the many things that Claire liked about Elle; she was comfortable with silence. Besides, she was too distracted by the way Elle's thumb was softly stroking the back of her hand to think of anything to say.  
20 minutes later, they pulled up in front of a posh looking restaurant and once again, Elle opened the door for Claire and held out her hand for her to hold. Claire immediately took it and they walked into the restaurant

'Good evening ladies. May I ask if you have a reservation?' the guy at the front asked politely.

Elle said 'yes I do. It should be under Bishop'.

He checked the reservation book and said 'Ah, yes. If you could just please step this way, and a waiter will show you your table'.

Elle thanked him and tugged on Claire's hand gently. They followed the waiter to a table in the restaurant. The waiter left them with menus while Elle pulled out the other girl's chair for her. Claire thanked her and took a menu.  
Elle studied Claire while she looked through them menu and said 'they have really good pasta dishes here'.

Claire looked up and nodded 'thanks' and looked back down at her menu.  
Elle sighed and took a menu as well.  
They didn't talk until another waiter arrived at their table to ask them if they had decided what food they wanted. Claire ordered a pear and asiago cheese ravioli in walnut sauce and Elle ordered ravioli with creamy Swiss mushroom & thyme sauce.

As they ate, they talked and laughed about anything they could think of. It was effortless to be around each other, and before they knew it, they were walking out of the restaurant, laughing their heads off. Since it was still early, Elle said 'I don't want to take you home yet. It's only 8:30.'

'I don't want to leave you either' Claire said, clinging to Elle's arm like a 5 year old.

The older girl stopped walking suddenly and turned to Claire, 'hey would you mind if I take you somewhere I go often? It's a little bit out of the city but it's not too far.'

'Yeah, sure!' Claire exclaimed.

They walked back to the car and Elle drove them a little way out of the city until the cliffs faded softly into trees and grass. They stopped at a particular cluster of trees and they got out and Elle used on hand to cover Claire's eyes and took her other hand to lead her.  
'Where are you taking me, Elle?' Claire asked, trying to peek under Elle's hand.

'Nuh uh. No peeking, you'll see where I've taken you soon enough' the older girl said, leading Claire out of the thicket of trees.

'Ok, you can look now.'

Elle took her hand off Claire's eyes and she gasped. They were standing a large meadow with large patches of white, slightly fragrant wildflowers. The grass was mildly long and soft under their feet while a gentle breeze blew through the meadow. The moonlight was dim and it bounced off the flowers, making them looked like they glowed. The meadow was calm, peaceful and beautiful.  
Claire turned to Elle and the older girl looked nervously at her. 'Well, what do you think of this place?'

'It's beautiful Elle. How did you find this place?' Claire wondered.

The older blonde took her hand in her's again and they started to walk to the middle of the clearing. 'Well, I first discovered this place after my first mission that my partner died in.'

'Oh' was all Claire could say.

'I was devastated. I didn't know why it affected me so much. He was a good man, a good agent. He had a wife and three kids. I was really depressed so I decided to go for a drive. I drove aimlessly for about two hours and I decided to stop here. I got out of the car, walked through the trees and I found this place. I sat here for ages, just thinking and marveling at how beautiful this place is' Elle finished, stopping at a particular spot in the grass.

She sat down on the grass and pulled Claire onto her lap. 'I come here when I need to think or to calm down after I've been in contact with a lot of people. I've never told anyone else about this place except for you.'

'This is the perfect place to think of calm down, it's so peaceful' Claire said, pressing herself more comfortably into Elle. The older girl lay down, bringing Claire with her. Claire laid her head down on Elle's chest, listening to her heartbeat. Elle ran her fingers gently though the other girl's blonde tresses and sighed contently.

They lay there in silence, just enjoying being in each other's company. Claire felt so peaceful and protected, being in Elle's arms. She closed her eyes but opened them again a few seconds later after she heard Elle say 'Claire, I need to tell you something'.

Claire picked her head off the older girl's chest and said 'what?'

Elle took a deep breath and stroked Claire's face before saying 'I'm going on an assignment in two days.'

Claire nodded and said 'but why do I sense a 'but' somewhere?'

'This is no ordinary mission. I need to go and befriend this guy called Gabriel Gray. He's killed someone and managed to steal his victim's ability. I don't know why and my dad wants me to go with someone else to get him to kill again so we can examine how he takes people's abilities.'

Claire was speechless 'But…that's…'

'It's stupid and wrong, I know. But we have to know how he does it so we know the best way to catch him without anyone getting hurt. And don't worry, I he won't know that I have an ability.'

'But if he finds out that you have such a powerful ability, he could kill you and take your power…' Claire's voice wavered and she felt tears begin to pool in her eyes. Elle noticed this and hugged her closer, saying 'but I won't let him know that I have an ability, so you don't have to worry.'

'But if he does, he could kill you….' The younger girl trailed off as she felt tears cascading down her cheeks.

'Oh no Claire, please don't cry!' Elle frantically wiped away the tears but they just kept coming down. Elle sat up again, pulling Claire up with her and the younger blond buried her face into the crook of Elle's neck and cried. Barely feeling Elle's hands running consolingly up and down her back and didn't really hear the sweet nothings that Elle whispered in her ear. She sobbed into Elle's shoulder for a good 10 minutes, or at least until Elle's right shoulder was soaked. Claire finally calmed down and looked into Elle's eyes. It had only been a few weeks, but the younger girl already didn't know if she could stand the thought of Elle dying. She was pretty sure that a life without Elle was something that she certainly didn't want to experience any time soon.

'I don't want you to go' Claire sniffed.

Elle made a sympathetic noise and pulled Claire against her again .She nuzzled into her neck again, breathing in her scent.  
'I don't have a choice, Claire. My dad wants me to go and I can't say no to my boss. But I promise you, I will come back alive. I promise you I'm not going to let him kill me. Ok?' Elle said firmly, grasping Claire's shoulders and looking straight into her eyes.

Claire nodded weakly and leaned up to kiss Elle. Elle returned the kiss gently and when they broke apart, Elle lay back down on the grass and Claire laid her head back down on her chest. They both stayed like that for a long time, at least until most of the stars had appeared in the sky. Finally, Elle said 'It's getting late; I should get you home even though your parents and your brother aren't here and I need to get back to the Company.'

Claire nodded and they both got up from the ground and walked hand in hand back to the car.

While they drove back, Elle told Claire the details of the mission and when they finally got back to her house, Elle stopped the car and said 'I had a great time tonight.'

Claire smiled softly and looked down at their still entwined hands 'me too.'

They were silent for a few more moments and Claire asked tentatively 'will you stay with me tonight?'

Elle looked at Claire and she was just about to politely decline because she needed to go to the shooting range back at the company to practice her already perfect sharpshooting, but then she remembered that she was on a potentially deadly mission in two days time, so she rubbed her thumb over the back of Claire's hand and said. 'Ok.'

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**Footnote: So, that was the 8th chapter. If you're thinking something's going to happen between Elle and Claire in the next chapter, you're going to be dissapointed. I don't want to risk getting killed, ressurected and killed again by my mum if she found out. This story is rated 'T' for a reason. Hope you liked this chapter and please review! Thanks for reading!**


	9. The First Date Part Two

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone who PMed me telling me how much they like this story. And I'm sorry if you wanted a NC-17 chapter. But there might be a NC-17 chapter later on. Depends. As usual, thanks to OVERKILL-MAX for beta-ing and also thanks to a person I will not mention for helping me write this chapter (you know who you are!) And damn maths homework for distracting me as well. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elle or Claire or anything in the Heroes universe. Tim Kring does. I also do not own the songs Love Story or God Damn you're Beautiful. Taylor Swift and Chester See do.**

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**Claire's POV:**

Claire unlocked the front door with shaking hands. She had asked Elle to sleep over tonight because she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her before Elle went on her potentially deadly mission. She opened the door and they stepped inside the house. Claire locked the door and kicked off her shoes, and Elle did the same. She willed her hands to stop shaking and her heart to stop pounding. She didn't know why she felt so nervous all of a sudden. Maybe it's because of her desire for Elle rising to the surface. Elle must've noticed that Claire was acting strangely, because she took the house keys from her hands, puts them down on the table and gently pulled the younger girl into her arms. Claire immediately melted into the embrace and Elle said 'why do you look so nervous? If you changed your mind about me staying tonight, just tell me and I'll go.'

Claire lifted her head off Elle's chest and moved away enough to see her face but not so much that she left the protective shelter of the other girl's arms, 'no, no, it's just that….I'm just…really nervous for some reason.'

Elle smiled softly and leaned down to press her lips tenderly to Claire's. They remained like that for a few moments until Elle pulled away and before she could say anything, Claire said 'I just need to say that by asking you to stay tonight, I just wanted to spend some more time with you because I know there is a chance you might not come back after your mission. I don't expect anything from tonight, just to spend more time with you, alone.'

Elle tilted her chin up and recaptured her lips in a kiss. 'I know, and we'll do whatever you want to do, ok?'

Claire nodded slowly and said 'did you still want to dance?'

The older girl nodded as the phone rang, Claire politely excused herself and picked up the phone. It was Sandra.  
'Claire! How was your date with Elle?' her mother excitedly asked.

'It was really good. We had a great time. Talked most of the time and she took me to this beautiful meadow and it was just really great. In fact, she's here at home right now.' Claire rambled.

Her mother gasped and said excitedly 'really? What did you two do?' she paused and asked in a lower voice,' you haven't done anything….special…have you?'

It took Claire a while before she understood what her mother had just said. 'Oh, mom! No! We haven't…done….anything yet. We just got back!'

Sandra chuckled and said 'Ok, ok, ok. I was just kidding. Now I don't need to give you the sex talk, do I?'

Claire groaned and said 'Mom! No! It was painful enough the first time!'

Sandra laughed again, 'alright, alright dear. I'll let you get back to Elle now. Have a fun with Elle,' she paused for a few moments and added, 'not in that way.'

Claire groaned again and her mother chuckled again, 'alright, alright. Goodbye.'

'Thanks mom. See you' Claire said before she hung up.

She put down the phone and only then did she realize that in the lounge room, the soft sounds of Billie Holiday were coming out of the speakers. She entered the living room and saw that Elle had turned off the light and she was lighting the candles that were littered on every flat surface with a snap of her fingers. The older girl turned around and saw Claire walking slowly into the room and she smiled.  
'Hey. Who was that?' she asked, walking towards Claire.

The younger girl closed the gap between them and slid her hands up her back, clutching the other girl's shoulders from behind.

'Oh, that was just my mom. She was just checking up on me.'

'Cool' was all Elle could say before Claire lay her head back down on her chest, closed her eyes and sighed. She felt strong arms circle her waist and the other girl kissed the top of her head before beginning to move to the music. Claire suddenly realized that dancing with Elle was kind of like dancing with the other boys she had danced with in the past. They were all almost the same height but then again, this was nothing like dancing with the other boys. Being in Elle's arms made her feel so protected, safe and loved; something she had not felt when she danced with someone else.

Claire was dimly aware of Billie Holiday fading into Art Tatum then into Chet Baker. All she felt was the press of hands against her lower back, Elle's warm breath pouring onto the top of her head and the length of their bodies pressed together. They were silent while they danced, they didn't need to talk. Claire felt that if either of them broke the silence, the spell would break. It wasn't until the song God Damn You're Beautiful by Chester See came on that Elle finally broke the silence.

'I think we might have found our song'. She said, smiling down at Claire.  
'Yeah. I think you might be right' the younger girl chuckled lightly.

_On the days I can't see your eyes,  
I don't even want to open mine.  
On the days I can't see your smile;  
I'd rather sit and wait awhile.  
For the days I know you'll be near,  
'Cause a day without just isn't fair.  
For the days I can hear you voice,  
I'm left without a choice._

Then I go weak in the knees,  
Fall head over heels baby,  
And every other cheesy cliché.  
Yes I'm swept off my feet,  
Oh my heart skips a beat.  
'Cause there's really only one thing to say.

God damn your beautiful to me,  
Your everything, yeah that's beautiful yes to me

I can't find the words to explain,  
Just how much you got me going insane.  
When you speak to me sometimes you'll find,  
Oh I stutter my words and say 'never mind'.  
'Cause even when you just walk by,  
Well I look around to seem occupied.  
'Cause I'm trying so hard to hide,  
All these feelings inside.

Then I go weak in the knees,  
Fall head over heels baby,  
And every other cheesy cliché.  
Yes I'm swept off my feet,  
Oh my heart skips a beat.  
And there's really only one thing to say.

God damn your beautiful to me,  
Your everything that's beautiful, yes to me

Yeah your beautiful..  
Yeah your beautiful..  
God damn your beautiful,  
To me,  
To me…

They danced for a few more songs before Claire pulled out of Elle's embrace and took her hand. 'I'm getting tired. Are you sure that you still want to stay with me?'

Elle smiled and said 'do you want me to stay? Because if you want me to stay, I will. As long as it makes you happy.'

The younger girl was touched by these words and gently tugged on Elle's hands and lead her up the staircase to her room. Elle shut the door behind them and Claire rifled through her drawers, looking for some clothes for Elle to wear to sleep. Finally, she pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of boxers and handed them to Elle. She inspected them and said 'you don't usually wear clothes this big.'

Claire blushed and said 'I didn't want to take any chances because I'm afraid that I couldn't handle the amount of flesh and skin showing if it was too small for you.'

The older girl blushed as well and said 'fair enough. I'll just go to the bathroom and change then.'

Claire nodded and looked at the tank top and pair of boyshorts that she usually wore to sleep. She decided against wearing them tonight and instead, went back to her drawers and pulled out a shirt and a pair of shorts. She then went and sat down on the bed, waiting for Elle. A few minutes later, Claire heard a knock on the door and a voice asked 'are you decently covered up?'

She laughed and said 'I'm decent enough I think.'

Elle peeked into the room and assessed what Claire was wearing before stepping fully into the bedroom and quietly shutting the door. She crossed the room and Claire pulled back the covers and they both lay on their sides, looking at each other. The younger girl pouted and held out her arms and Elle immediately enveloped her into a hug. The younger blonde gently touched her fingertips to Elle's face before leaning up for a goodnight kiss. Elle reciprocated and Claire tucked her head underneath Elle's chin and nuzzled further into her and whispered softly 'I could think of nothing better than waking up next to you tomorrow morning.'

Elle smiled softly and kissed the top of her head before saying 'me neither. Goodnight Claire. Sleep well knowing that I will never leave you if I can help it.' Claire smiled again and fell into a peaceful slumber, warm and safe in Elle's arms.

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**Footnote: Well, that was the 9th chapter. I hope it didn't dissapoint and I still have a large pile of maths homework I need to finish. The next chapter might take a little while longer to update because I have my PE assignment and maths half-yearlys to study for. Please review and thank you for reading!**


	10. Pain

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm back! If I get to Heaven, I am going to kill the person that said maths is important for everything. Oh well. As usual, thanks to OVERKILL-MAX for beta-reading for me. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Claire or Elle or anything from the Heroes universe. Tim Kring does. I also do not own the song Love Story. Taylor Swift does.

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**Elle's POV:**

The alarm clock rung and Elle groaned, extending a hand towards her bedside table to turn the blasted clock off. Her hand collided with something and she knocked it to the ground. Swearing, she found the damned clock and turned it off. Elle opened her eyes slowly and reached down to pick up the object that she had just knocked over. She smiled when she picked up the framed picture of her and Claire laughing their heads off at sunset at the beach. She gently touched her fingertips to Claire's face and her smile widened as she thought back to the day before.

_*Flashback*_

_Elle pulled up in front of Claire's house. She got out of the car and smoothed down the front of her shirt and her pants. She rang the doorbell and after a few seconds, Sandra opened the door. The older woman was about to exclaim how relieved she was to see Elle perfectly fine when she cut her off.  
'Shhh! I want to surprise Claire!' Elle whispered._

'Oh ok then. How are you Elle? Claire told me what you had to do today. Did it go well? Are you hurt?' Sandra queried.

'The mission went…well, I suppose. I'm physically fine, it's just I feel really guilty and horrified that I just lead an innocent man to his death' Elle breathed out.

Sandra made a sympathetic noise and wrapped her arms around Elle's shoulders. The younger woman leaned into the hug gratefully and Sandra pulled away after a few more moments and smiled. Elle smiled back and asked 'do you mind calling down Claire? I want to see how she reacts.'

'_Sure', Sandra replied before yelling up the staircase, 'CLAIRE! There's someone downstairs who wants to see you!'_

'Who is it?' Claire yelled back.

'Apparently, this girl claims to be someone named Elle Bishop' she yelled, a smile forming on the older woman's lips.

There was a beat of silence before they both heard a door open and close rapidly and the sound of someone literally flying down the stairs. Elle caught only a glimpse of blonde hair before she felt something slam into her, knocking her back into the wall behind her. She felt someone's arms lock in a death grip around her waist and someone hysterically saying 'Elle! You're back! Are you ok? Are you?'

'Hello to you too. Yes, I'm absolutely fine' she chuckled, catching Claire's chin in her fingers and tilting it up to look into her crystal blue eyes and smiling, her fingers moving up to softly stroke the younger blonde's cheek.

Sandra must've felt awkward intruding on this loving and tender moment, because she slowly backed away into the kitchen, smiling the entire time. Claire must've noticed that they were alone, because she whispered, 'I'm so glad you're ok' before leaning up and gently pressing her lips to Elle's. The older girl returned it tenderly and pulled away after a few moments, her hand reaching up to brush the hair away from Claire's face.  
'Welcome back' Claire whispered, leaning in to catch Elle's lips in another kiss. The way she said it sounded like she had said 'welcome home.' Elle didn't mind. That was exactly how it felt.

_*End of flashback*_

She got out of bed, changed and went to the kitchen to make herself something to eat. As she was waiting for her eggs to cook properly, her phone rang. She frowned, wondering who could be calling her. She looked at her caller ID and sighed. She should have known the caller was her father.

'Morning daddy' she said cheerily.

'Morning? Elle, its 2:30 in the afternoon already. How's my favourite daughter doing?' her father asked.

'Dad, I'm your only daughter. And I'm fine' Elle replied, scooping the eggs out of the pan and putting two slices of bread into the toaster.

'Good, good' her dad responded. A silence fell between them and after a few moments, Elle said 'you didn't call me just to ask how I was, did you daddy?'

Bob sighed and said 'no. I actually wanted to tell you to come to the Company so we can conduct some tests.'

Elle frowned and asked 'what kind of tests?'

'Tests that will allow us to find the limits of your ability. We want to document as much information about every ability we can find and store it away. We might need it for future purposes.'

'Okay then. When do you want me to come?' Elle asked, walking over to the toaster and removing the pieces of toast. Walking over to the fridge, she removed a carton of orange juice and poured herself a glass.

'How about in around an hour? I'll meet you at the entrance. Bring a tank top and sweatpants.'

'Okay dad. See you in an hour.' Elle said, sinking into a chair.

'Bye' Bob replied before hanging up.

Elle hung up and started to eat her food. After she had finished eating, she washed up and went to take a shower. After getting ready she rang Claire to tell her that she couldn't come to see her today because she had some stuff to do at the Company. The younger blonde sounded disappointed, but she understood. After she hung up, Elle packed a white tank top and grey sweatpants into a bag, grabbed her keys and phone and walked out of her small apartment to her car.

Half an hour later, she pulled up in the Company parking lot and walked to the front entrance, where she spotted her dad.  
'Ah, Elle, you're here. Good, good. Come with me.' Bob greeted her.

They walked into the building and into an elevator. The descended to the lowest floor of the Company facility and got out of the elevator and the stepped into a white, brightly lit corridor. Bob motioned her into a change room and she quickly changed into the tank top and sweat pants she had brought with her. After she exited the room, a group of men were standing and talking to her father. As she approached, they all fell silent and Bob said 'these men will show you what to do. Follow them.'

He clapped her on the shoulder and one of the men motioned to her to follow them. They led Elle into a white room, which was empty except for a weird looking machine that sat in the very center of the room. Behind it, there was a large glass window where a group of scientists were sitting behind a bunch of computers. She stood in front of the machine and the door in the other room she was facing opened and her father walked in. He walked up to the microphone and he said 'alright Elle. We are going to start testing now. The machine you see in front of you measures wattage that is discharged. I want you to stand in front of the machine and place your hands in the indents you see.'

Elle looked down and saw two hand shaped indentations on the surface of the machine. She placed her hands in them and said out loud 'Okay dad. I've done that'.

'Good. Now I'm going to ask you to let loose different voltages of electricity and we will measure and keep a record of them until you have reached the maximum amount of wattage you can discharge.'

Elle gulped and nodded. She knew this was going to be _very_ tiring.

'Ok Elle, now I want you to release the smallest charge you can'.

For the next hour, Bob asked her to discharge different levels of electricity. By the end of it, Elle was exhausted. She was covered in sweat and her arms were aching.  
'Can't…can't...put anymore into the machine dad. I'm done' she panted.

Bob sighed and said into the microphone 'ok Elle. I'm going to send someone in to improve your energy levels and we'll start the next test. '

The door to the room she was standing in opened and in walked an agent. Elle recognized him. He had the ability of energy manipulation. He walked over to her, put his hand on her shoulder and Elle immediately felt a rush of energy flow into her, stopping her shaking limbs and erasing her weariness. After he removed his hand from her shoulder, another scientist came into the room and said 'Miss Bishop, if you could please follow me.'

Elle nodded and followed him out of the room. They walked down to the very end of the corridor and he led her into another large room. This time, there was a gurney with restraints in the middle of the room and another machine next to it. There was a large glass window a few meters above the floor and there were more people and computers in the next room. She eyed the machine warily and stood next to it.

'Elle, this next test requires us to run electrical currents through you to see how much you can take and not pass out. We need to put these electrodes on you and we also need to restrain you so you don't move around too much. Am I clear?' Bob asked, looking at her over the top of his glasses.

Elle nodded. Three scientists came into the room and Bob exited, going into the next room.

'Ok Miss. Bishop, I'm going to have to ask you to please lie down on the bed and we will strap you up and glue all the electrodes onto you' a short, balding scientist said.

Elle nodded and lay down onto the gurney. Two scientists put her wrists and ankles into the restraints and locked them, pulling on the straps to tighten them. They then glued electrodes to her head, shoulders, arms, stomach and legs. The scientists stood next to the machine and Bob's voice came over the intercom.

'Ok Elle. We're going to start the test now.'

Elle gulped and squeezed her eyes shut, fearing what was to come.  
The first trickle of electricity made her jump. It didn't hurt; it merely tickled her a bit. Bob motioned to the scientists next to the machine and they let another current loose into her body. It was slightly higher this time and it stung a bit. A few seconds later, another current of electricity flowed through her.

For the next half an hour, Bob kept running currents of electricity with ever increasing voltages into her. Pain quickly began to be her ruling sensation. It was so intense, it was all Elle could feel. It was a paroxysm of all five senses. She could taste a metallic taste on her tongue, feel the electric current passing through her body and the straining of their wrists and ankles in their restraints and smell an eye-watering stench that she couldn't quite identify. She could only hear the crackling and sizzling of electricity over her skin and her own screams of intense pain in her ears and explosions of colours were all she could see under her eyelids. All she wanted to do was to black out, to die, anything to stop this terrible, terrible pain she was feeling.

She begged them, screamed at them to stop running these currents through her. No-one listened though. They all seemed to be laughing. It seemed like they enjoyed watching her writhing and screaming in pain. Finally, after forty five long minutes, Elle began to feel light headed and dizzy. Her senses began to dull and she fell into the depths of unconsciousness.

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**Footnote: Well, that was the tenth chapter. I don't think I described the pain very well but what's done is done. Hope you liked it and please review or PM me! Thanks for reading!**


	11. Fallout

**A?N: Hey everyone! I'm so incredibly sorry for the giant, giant wait. I actually had no idea where this was going to head after the last chapter because his was my first ever fanfiction and I didn't plan it out. So I was stuck. But I hate leaving things unfinished and I felt guilty so I decided to try my best and finish this. I don't know if anyone will actually read this, but it's here if anyone does. I don't know when the next update will be. I'm sorry. Anyways, I'm sorry again for the wait and the is unbetaed, so all mistakes are mine. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Noah's POV:**

'What are you doing to her?' Noah asked aggressively, storming into Bob's office.

'Well hello to you too Noah. Doing what to whom?' Bob asked, looking up from the file he was reading.

'You know who I'm talking about. Why did I walk past the experiment rooms and see Elle being wheeled away to a cell lying unconscious on a gurney, sparking with electricity? I asked the people with her and they said that you ordered some tests on her and that was all they would say. What are you doing to her?'

Bob removed his glasses, polished them and put them back on before saying 'I ordered some tests on Elle because I wanted to test the upper limits of her ability.'

'But you already know the upper limits of her abilities! I ran the tests myself!' Noah yelled.

'I know the _approximately _what she is capable of doing. I don't know _exactly _what she can do. And I want to find out,' the other man replied calmly, folding his hands on top of each other.

Noah frowned and said, 'you're lying. You already know exactly what she is capable of. There is an entire file on what she can do.'

'Ah, but Elle doesn't know that, does she?' he replied, smiling. There was something about the way in which he said it that unnerved Noah. He knew that Bob wasn't doing this to find the limits of Elle's ability, because he kept a file on her. It was updated recently and it had everything about Elle on it, from her height to the exact amount of wattage she could discharge.

'Why are you doing this to her Bob? These are extremely painful tests and they're not necessary. You hate seeing your daughter in pain,' Noah said.

'Well, people change Noah. Maybe Elle deserves the pain that she feels during those tests' Bob hissed venomously.

Noah reeled backwards. 'What?' he asked in disbelief.

"Claire…" he began in a dangerous voice.

Noah felt the hatred behind his words. Confused by the sudden change of topic in the conversation, he asked, "What about Claire?"

Bob stared at him hard before abruptly standing from his chair. "Your daughter and my daughter seem very close, don't you think?"

"Well yeah, they are best friends," Noah replied, even more confused.

Bob gave a dark laugh. "You really think that's it?"

Noah nodded, unable to think of anything to say. His mind was running a mile a minute and all he could think of was "_no, please tell me he didn't find out about their relationship…his extreme prejudice will kill his own daughter."_

Bob paused for a second, fingers trailing over the wood of his desk. "Your daughter turned my daughter into a fucking lesbian."

_Oh shit. _"What the hell are you talking about?" Noah retorted, "You can't turn anyone gay!"

"Apparently you can. Elle was fine before she met Claire. She was the perfect soldier, the perfect warrior, the perfect bodyguard. She was always so obedient. Now, she questions everything I tell her to. She's getting sloppy. Now's she's a disgusting dyke."

"Hey! Don't call her that!" Noah yelled.

"She's my daughter. I can call her whatever the hell I want. Now you listen to me. I am your boss. I am the boss of The Company. Claire is to sever all contact with Elle. I don't care how. I don't want her anywhere near her. I don't want them to communicate. Get their memories of each other wiped for all I care. Elle was straight before, and I can turn her back," Bob reasoned, madness glinting in his eyes.

Noah couldn't hold it in any longer. "Are you fucking serious? You're torturing your daughter because you want to make her straight? That is the most stupid and ignorant thing I have ever heard in my life! She's still the same as she was before she met Claire. This is just one more thing that you know about her."

"She is the reason why my wife is dead. She's also gay. Makes sense to see her suffer a little. I've heard the electroshock therapy can cure _it_."

"A LITTLE? She can't change who she is!" Noah's heart was breaking for Elle. Elle had grown to be like a daughter to him. He'd caught them kissing quietly on the couch once and he had simply smiled before backing out of the room slowly. He never mentioned this to his daughter and although he had was slightly uncomfortable with the idea at first, Elle made his daughter happier than he had ever seen. And that was really all that mattered.

"I'm not going to discuss this with you anymore," Bob stated plainly, "are you going to follow orders, or do I have to take matters into my own hands?"

Noah clenched his fists by his sides. He wanted nothing more than to swing them into Bob's face and keeping doing it until he made him see sense. But he couldn't. He wasn't going to let him ruin Elle and Claire's relationship.

Bob took Noah's silence as an answer to his question. "Good. I don't care how you do it; just make sure that they have no contact whatsoever with each other."

Noah straightened his spine. "No."

Bob bristled. "Noah-"

"No," he interrupted, "I will not let you ruin both their lives-"

"Goddammit Noah!" Bob yelled, pulling a handgun from his desk and pointed it at Noah's head. Noah immediately cursed at himself internally, asking himself why he had left his gun at home.

"You're leaving me no choice!" Bob continued, "Either you take care of this, or I will kill you now and then I will kill Elle, Claire, the rest of your family and make it look like an accident. I know how to kill Claire permanently. I'll just chop her head off. And if you even think about running away, I will find you and I WILL kill you. UNDERSTOOD?"

Noah shook his head in disbelief and his shoulders drooped. The man standing before him was no longer the friend that he recognized. "Who are you?"

"I'm still the same person as I was before my daughter met yours. This is just one more thing you know about me." He smiled evilly. He knew he had won. "So, are you going to follow orders or do I have to kill you?"

Noah hung his head in defeat. He knew there was no way out of this. Killing Bob or fighting with him would simply get them all killed. "Yes sir."

Bob grinned darkly. "Good. You can go do what you're supposed to do now."

Without glancing at Bob, he turned on his heel and stormed out of his office, taking care to slam the door as hard as he could. Fuming, he strode to Elle's new cell in Level 5. Pressing his hand to the glass, a lone tear ran down his cheek when he took in the sight of the machines hooked up to her. He prayed that whatever happens next, everyone affected by Bob's decision and his next actions would be able to forgive him one day.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the unconscious Elle. After one last look, he turned his back on her and walked away.

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**Footnote: And there you have it. I wasn't too happy about this chapter because it was rushed and I haven't watched or written Heroes for such a long time. I hope you enjoyed it anyways. Reviews are love :D**


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